Liverworts

Class Hepaticae

Liverworts represent an early form of land plants. Over 8,000 species grow in moist places all over the world. As the plants are small they are easily overlooked. The main body of many Liverworts is a flat ribbon called a thallus though there are also species with stems and leaves. Liverworts reproduce sexually by fusing eggs and sperm and also have an asexual method of reproducing. Tiny cups on the thallus surface contain small clumps of the plant's cells called "gemmae". Each gemma splashed out of its cup by a raindrop may develop into a new Liverwort plant. [CH] {ML}